Older doesnt mean over! Just finished Summit Panama...OUTSTANDING. I think for those of us who like the smaller ships and not the huge mega ships the solstice & milennium class are the way to go.
Yes! The Summit is my favorite ship in the fleet. I actually don't care for the Edge Class - those infinite verandas are a terrible idea. I'm on the Summit now in the Caribbean and she's gorgeous. I'd sail only Summit if it had a wider variety of itineraries.
Absolutely! Also, we didn’t mention it but they have their small sandwiches, muffins and morning pastries available all day now in Cafe Al Bacio! (Instead of only being available certain hours of the day) Which is a smart change to improve selection for guests. 🥳
There is a reason why RCL and Celebrity demand is high and their revenue is high. The leadership and the foresight to keep all the older/smaller ships relevant.
Celebrity has been our favorite cruise line for many years. I'm glad to hear that Celebrity is bucking the trend to continue with the "cut backs" - at least on the Reflection.
Love the smaller ships. We are Elite on Celebrity but stopped sailing on them a few years ago when the food and entertainment took a nose dive. May have to give them another try and see how they are doing.
So happy that Celebrity is listening to their customers. I was getting to the point where I was looking into another cruise line due to the downgrading implemented on the last three cruises on Celebrity. I am elite plus so have been on many many cruises. Thanks so much for the information provided.🎉🎉
My husband and I are doing B2B sailings on The Reflection this December!! Very Excited to experience the positive changes!! Thankyou for the Great video!!
I'm happy to hear that Celebrity has invested in their older ships. I'm sailing a 9-day cruise next year on the Reflection, and now I'm more optimistic about it. Thanks for the insight.
Alejandro is the best cruise director on Celebrity. And recently I found someone almost up to his standard, Sophie on Caribbean Princess. She’d be the hardest working and nicest cruise director I’ve come across.
I just completed a 4 day sailing on the Reflection, and was very impressed also. I didn't think I would like a shorter sailing, but I really did. Food was great, and I loved the cruise director "Gracias!!"
Glad you guys actually took a little time for yourselves. Great seeing changes for the better. They should invest if they are keeping the ship in circulation. Will keep folks coming back.
So excited to hear your review! Used to sail Celebrity before I had my son and have been on more kid-friendly cruises since (Disney, Royal, Carnival, NCL). He’ll be 16 and we’re finally going to try Celebrity again for their 8-night southern Caribbean cruise in March. Booked it for the itinerary and have been a little nervous the ship itself would be a flop and I’d have to wait to get my teen off to college before I could return to Celebrity. Looks like their upgrades will help convince us to keep coming back! So excited!
Hi. I am glad you had a great time. Celebrity is doing a good job modernizing their older ships to give them a similar feel as the newer ones. My wife and I first sailed on Edge. When we sailed on the Eclipse this past June, it was familiar and resembled the Edge in certain things, while maintaining its own charm. We are sailing on the Summit next month and expect it to be very similar, just smaller.
We just sailed the Reflection as well! It was our first time on that ship and we were pleasantly surprised! One of our most memorable cruises! The entertainment was awesome as was the food and service!!
Luigi is fantastic and Celebrity’s definitely pushing to improve their older ships by sprucing up their entertainment by adding such a talent as this. He will draw guests of all ages.
My wife and I were on Reflexion last Christmas and we loved it! We had a Sky Loft Suite and spent most of our time in Michael's Lounge...lol. Food was amazing and we can't wait to go back on Reflexion again. Love your channel. You guys are amazing!
Glad to hear they are updating shows. Currently on the Edge for 4 B2B. The music is newer I prefer 60s and 70s but I am 70. I do not like short cruises because I have to travel to get to any port Celebrity has.
Awesome video thanks! 🤩 My husband and I have yet to try Celebrity but we are definitely keen to. Actually thinking of going on the one TH-camrs Ben and David will be on this summer in Australia (we are Aussies). 🐨
My friends and I got off the Beyond and the next day went on a four day cruise on the Reflection. We had a great time on the Reflection - loved Feel the Funk. The food and service were wonderful. We loved Luigi the cruise director. Prior to the Edge class ships, the Reflection was always our favorite.
My sister and I were on celebrity reflection back in May. Of course that was our first cruise on celebrity and we loved it.. especially when the captain of the ship did a whole show with his rock band. It was awesome! Glad to know they have made all these improvements! Will definitely sail with them again in the future!
We travelled on Solstice in March from Singapore to Sydney and were so upset with the way this beautiful ship had been downgraded in the opposite way from your description of what is going on with Reflection. The food was under the quality we’d had on this same ship just before Covid, as was the entertainment. The cruise director was also less than expected and made a remark, supposedly a joke, that he was having to do some entertaining as all the money was going to the new ships. I didn’t doubt it and we were so disappointed we decided not to cruise on solstice again until she’d been refurbished. I have my fingers crossed that Celebrity are pulling up their socks with all the older ships, which we love, and not just on short trips in the Caribbean. Thanks for the update.
Love your channel! So truthful!! We went on the Solstice, last year- what a run down ship- we were in Aqua and the cabin ceiling was falling down. The trim on the closet fell off and shower wasn’t water tight, water all over floor. Food and service was awful- especially in Blu- room service breakfast- cold coffee in styrofoam cups; they said they ran out of thermal pots. Entertainment- same sets and lame themes!! Totally awful! Love Luigi- full of energy- he’s our favorite cruises director!
The Celebrity reflection is awesome I absolutely love that shit but I’ve been on her twice in January 20 23 and justice pass September had a wonderful time the food was fantastic!! love love love the martini bar
Glad to hear this news. We took the Eclipse last year and the food was below par, even in the specialty restaurants. Because of this, we are hesitant to take older ships.
I just went on the REFLECTION with a mentality to just accumulate points. But I was so impressed by how much I enjoyed that I'm going back on the REFLECTION in 2 weeks! I feel like this summer the REFLECTION was the real flagship of Celebrity!
We are booked on the Apex this year in December and the Xcel in December next year. Just disembarked from the Beyond in September. Good to know about the Reflection!
We were on Reflections in April. In Aqua. blu was amazing not one bad meal. Entertainment was great. Was one of our best cruises. And have done 47 cruises
I think there is so much intense competition, Celebrity is being very smart to promote and maintain the short 3/4 night cruises. Good for them and good for the future passengers.
I love to hear that Celebrity is listening and implementing positive changes across their line! I am about to take my first-ever cruise in January on Equinox and I was not thrilled with the "show" offerings. My friend has convinced me to give it a try. Would LOVE to hear popular songs that make us want to dance and see some quality shows! Would also love some day-time activities besides hanging by the pool and instead of gambling (UGH!) I sure hope it happens!
Thats great to hear. I saw some really good rates on those shorter trip, so I was wondering how they measured up. Thanks for being the guinea pig guys! 😂
Luigi is the best ! We were on the Beyond and Ascent maiden voyage w him and he pours his soul into his work. In fact we saw you two on the Ascent and in the Eden show when y’all participated. The reflection is a great short cruise and the investment they have made is a smart move.
I have been on the Reflection 2x this year and about to go one more time in a few weeks. I agree the last sailing I was on, a 3 night weekend cruise to CoCoCa (and really the one 8 night shortly before that) I have been VERY impressed with the staff and the food. Had it been poor before, I cant say, but I can tell you we had such a good time on this last 3 night we booked again on the ship.
It makes send that Celebrity is "showcasing" their best offerings as these short cruises are intended to impress and grow the client base. As shareholders we like this! We're trying a side-by-side next spring from Ft Lauderdale with Ascent then Silhouette for a 4-nighter "booze cruise". We just hope there isn't too much "wear and tear" on Silhouette.
Considering how many people are loyal to Celebrity's Constellation aka Connie (as one example), this sounds like a good strategy. We tend to stay with one ship we like because it becomes familiar. We think Celebrity is doing the right thing renovating the older ships - that's a lot of money to thrown into the scrap yard.
Seems like just a few small changes like investing in just food and entertainment can make a huge difference. I hope they try this on some of their other older ships
Thank you for your comments. We have been on the Reflection many times, including twice last year and this year on short and long nights. Food is always excellent everywhere!! What tops the Reflection now, is the addition of LUIGI as Cruise Director......Celebrity's Cruise Directors always have good cruise directors, but since we had the joy of meeting LUIGI on the Celebrity Ascent this year, we can say that he is truly the BEST OF THE BEST Cruise Directors in the entire fleet and also comparing with RC. He's like the "Everyready" battery bunny on steroids! Lol, Lol, Lol. Talk about someone who truly loves and enjoys his job! He puts his heart and soul into everything and you can see it. Thank you for honoring LUIGI. Dominicans really know how to entertain!! We can't wait to have the pleasure of seeing him again this coming month!
We just finished a back to back on the Summit. Food in main dining room was BRUTAL. With only 1 speciality restaurant we felt trapped. I will only sail Edge class ships.
Our last cruise was on the Reflection in 2023 it made us explore other cruiselines because of the MDR and lack of party atmosphere. Our previous cruises were on Celebrity. I am now try Royal for the first time. I loved Celebrity until the Reflection. It needed help.
We are going with our family on Celebrity Silhouette next June . Some of our family members haven’t cruised before. Hope the Silhouette has some of these improvements onboard. Would love our family members to love their experience on the Silhouette. Would have preferred an Edge class ship, but sailing out of Bayonne is more convenient for our family. My DH and I have sailed on 27 Celebrity cruises and on 6 other cruise lines. Celebrity Viking are our favorite.
We were recently on the Equinox for back to back cruises in the Mediterranean. We had this conversation about the shows being the same. We have been sailing in the Caribbean every September on the Equinox. We were disappointed again that the show was the same.
Just thrilled they are making investments with olderships and shorter Iteneraries in Premium market especially...So many ar a certain age and taking there folks at the top ages want these "smaller" ships...just thrilled. Thank you.
It will be interesting to see if the great new things on the Reflection will be pn the Silhouette when they switch them . We were just on the Reflection and totally agree with what you are saying. Was disappointed to hear Silhouette is going to take over the 3/4 day sailings.
We are curious as well! If all goes well for feedback from Reflection, we could see Celebrity seeing the fruits of their labor and doing more on other ships. ☺️
Great to hear. I sailed the Ascent in March and sailing the Beyond next weekend. I'm trying out the Silouette in Jan to have a real balcony (don't like the Edge veranda) and because it is the latest in the Soltice class to be fully renovated and I saw videos of cabins on the Reflection having torn curtains, worn carpeting and furniture. How was your cabin quality? I'm aware older ships do need updates but prefer ships that have been renovated if not new.
We were just on the beyond, we were told that the reflection changes was a test ship for the changes you reviewed before possible rolling them out to the other ships in this class.
Well thank you for sharing this video. I have sailed on Celebrity Reflection twice and that is one boring ship and the food was okay, nothing you should run to get. Like you, I didn't care for this ship at all but the itineraries were great and the price was just right. I couldn't understand why many of the content creators like Celebrity. I was thinking all of their class ships were like the Reflection. However, when you shared what you shared I truly understand they are not all alike. I am glad the Reflection up the ante. Maybe I might just give it another try.
Finally some good news from Celebrity. It's been a year of disappointment with price increases (especially in the Retreat), tips removed from Suites, and lackluster food.
One Celebrity ship that needs attention is the Solstice. I was on her in early August in Alaska. She has never had an overhaul and it shows. They replaced some of the soft goods such as carpets and curtains in 2023 but the ship needs some major investment. The refresh of soft goods means it make a good 1st impression but once you have been on her for a day you notice all the areas where the age is really showing. Seating that is worn through or where the cushions have broken down so they provide no padding, broken shades, cabin furniture that is broken or the finish has worn off with age, our cabin blackout curtains were full of holes allowing in light, etc. Outside of the specialty restaurants the food wasn't great. The ship was understaffed and there were bizarre decisions like not opening the sky observation lounge bar during the day even on sea days even though it was always full of people because it was where most of the daytime organized activities took place. On the 2nd night of the cruise at one of the bars I couldn't get a cold beer because the beers which had been loaded in Vancouver had just made it up to the bar after they had run out of everything. The singers and dancers were very talented but the production value of the shows was limited. The danger lines like Celebrity run when not investing in some of their ships is exactly what happened with me. That was my 1st Celebrity cruise and there likely won't be another anytime soon. At least if I'm choosing the line. Since August I have booked a 9 day cruise for December, a 14 day for next year and a 14 day for 2026. I didn't consider Celebrity for any of them.
Celebrity Reflection is the newest of the Solstice class ships - so currently only their 5th oldest ship. Celebrity needs to focus on ensuring the soft product is similar across the fleet even if the hard products (the ships) aren't. Buffet last year on Eclipse in Australia in the evening was poor (think Burgers and Hot dogs) with half the counters closed. Just got off the Apex, and the buffet was very busy every night with a fabulous selection - so good we ate there 7/13 nights
Summit was great last January. We’re taking Equinox this January. But we’ll be doing a Cunard Queen’s Grill transatlantic in a couple of weeks so it will be hard to compete with that. But last year our celebrity cruise was $$1500 total for two of us with gratuities, wifi, a drinks package and insurance. This year it’s $2700!!!! We did move from an inside cabin to ocean view, but that’s still a huge jump in price.
We were on Reflection 2 weeks ago and thought it was really good, we did the four night Key West/ Coco Cay itinerary. I still think the food is not quite up the standards of some of the newer ships, though the Lawn Club was great and nearly on par with Rooftop on Ascent. But I also felt like the service in the main dining room was subpar. Honestly, I think all of the MDR service levels aren't what they should be because of anytime dining, which makes no sense to me because they're just still trying to treat it like "main seating"/ "late seating" and you can't do that. But we've had Luigi our last three trips, three different ships, and he is great. I hadn't thought about them bringing him on as a way to up the quality of the trip, but it makes sense. Bring your top talent in to get people to stay longer.
You're crazy. Celebrity Reflection is a beautiful ship and very well maintained. I love the decor. The carpeting looked new. It's not that old either. It was the last of the Solstice class ships and came out in 2012. Also, it's not smaller than the Edge class by much. Go look at the number of passengers. Maybe you're thinking of the Millennium class? Since you're cruise specialists, why didn't you talk to Luigi? I think that Shine the Night is his invention. I was on the Ascent in January when Luigi was the CD. This one on the Reflection was even better. It was really fantastic. The MDR food was OK, but not as good as on the Ascent. My only criticism was that I didn't like the second production show at all. But I do agree that the Funk production show was wonderful.
Hey JJ guys - I LOVE how much I’ve learned about Celebrity from your channel ❤❤❤. We are traveling on Celebrity Eclipse’s final journey before refurbishment (March 22 - April 3 TA from FLL to Southampton). Our first Celebrity sailing, chosen for itinerary and price. PLEASE HELP! Why don’t they show any menus after day 8??? It’s a 12 day sailing and I’m worried it has something to do with planned refurb. NO MENUS on app for days 9 - 12 for MDR or Buffet. Kinda creeps us out. Can you explain this?
No worries! Most things in the app are placeholders, not final. Also note that we’ve done similar sailings in the past and the menus typically are repeated starting around that time but maybe with a chefs special for the evenings as well. The app schedule will definitely change the week of and while onboard your sailing. ☺️
Older doesnt mean over! Just finished Summit Panama...OUTSTANDING. I think for those of us who like the smaller ships and not the huge mega ships the solstice & milennium class are the way to go.
We loved Summit & Milli as well! Such great smaller vessels with some modernized renovations. ☺️
we were on it in April from Miami and loved it. Summit is a great ship and I love the casino (because I hit a Grand Jackpot :))
Yes! The Summit is my favorite ship in the fleet. I actually don't care for the Edge Class - those infinite verandas are a terrible idea. I'm on the Summit now in the Caribbean and she's gorgeous. I'd sail only Summit if it had a wider variety of itineraries.
We are doing that one in the spring. Happy to hear news. Thanks!
We've just got the Apex, but I liked the Infinity in March this year just as much.
👏🏿👏🏿 Glad Celebrity is listening and is doing positive changes. I LOVE Celebrity 💜💙
We are so glad as well! 🥳
I’ve never been on Celeb. Done a ton of Royal but haven’t made the leap yet
Food is very important and it’s good to hear Celebrity cares about their guest experience. Entertainment is also critical. This is great to hear.
Absolutely! Also, we didn’t mention it but they have their small sandwiches, muffins and morning pastries available all day now in Cafe Al Bacio! (Instead of only being available certain hours of the day) Which is a smart change to improve selection for guests. 🥳
There is a reason why RCL and Celebrity demand is high and their revenue is high. The leadership and the foresight to keep all the older/smaller ships relevant.
We love Celebrity and especially the Edge class ships. 🥰
Kudos to Celebrity for making some changes to a tired ship experience! That just makes good business sense. 👍
We sailed three cruises back to back on the Reflection in August. The food was good and the crew was great!
We were on Reflection August 26th and loved it!! Luigi was fantastic!! I hope Celebrity continues to do what they are doing!!
Celebrity has been our favorite cruise line for many years. I'm glad to hear that Celebrity is bucking the trend to continue with the "cut backs" - at least on the Reflection.
Agreed! 🙌🏽👏🏽
Love the smaller ships. We are Elite on Celebrity but stopped sailing on them a few years ago when the food and entertainment took a nose dive. May have to give them another try and see how they are doing.
My first Celebrity cruise was on Reflection in May. We had a blast, love everything about this ship!❤️
So happy that Celebrity is listening to their customers. I was getting to the point where I was looking into another cruise line due to the downgrading implemented on the last three cruises on Celebrity. I am elite plus so have been on many many cruises. Thanks so much for the information provided.🎉🎉
We’ve found the same, and being elite, we live the company, but have been disappointed recently.
My husband and I are doing B2B sailings on The Reflection this December!! Very Excited to experience the positive changes!! Thankyou for the Great video!!
I'm happy to hear that Celebrity has invested in their older ships. I'm sailing a 9-day cruise next year on the Reflection, and now I'm more optimistic about it. Thanks for the insight.
All GREAT to hear! Love celebrity!
Great to hear! I'll be on Reflection with friends for a New Year's cruise. It will be my first time on Celebrity.
Just disembarked Reflection 2 weeks ago, Elite Plus....loved the shows & all the food, MDR was fabulous.
Celebrity has the best cruise directors. Luigi & Alejandro are super fun!
Alejandro is the best cruise director on Celebrity. And recently I found someone almost up to his standard, Sophie on Caribbean Princess. She’d be the hardest working and nicest cruise director I’ve come across.
I just completed a 4 day sailing on the Reflection, and was very impressed also. I didn't think I would like a shorter sailing, but I really did. Food was great, and I loved the cruise director "Gracias!!"
Luigi is a huge win, we were on the Ascent with both brother captains and him. Glad to see the investment in the smaller ships.
Glad you guys actually took a little time for yourselves. Great seeing changes for the better. They should invest if they are keeping the ship in circulation. Will keep folks coming back.
I've done this ship several times. I'm going back on it next month. Looking forward to it. Thank you for the information. Always great videos
Thanks for watching! Have a wonderful time on Reflection! 🥳
So excited to hear your review! Used to sail Celebrity before I had my son and have been on more kid-friendly cruises since (Disney, Royal, Carnival, NCL). He’ll be 16 and we’re finally going to try Celebrity again for their 8-night southern Caribbean cruise in March. Booked it for the itinerary and have been a little nervous the ship itself would be a flop and I’d have to wait to get my teen off to college before I could return to Celebrity. Looks like their upgrades will help convince us to keep coming back! So excited!
So happy to hear about the changes. Especially since I’ll be doing a 6 day sailing in January 😊
Hi. I am glad you had a great time. Celebrity is doing a good job modernizing their older ships to give them a similar feel as the newer ones. My wife and I first sailed on Edge. When we sailed on the Eclipse this past June, it was familiar and resembled the Edge in certain things, while maintaining its own charm. We are sailing on the Summit next month and expect it to be very similar, just smaller.
RC\Celebrity is in it to win it!!! They are not playing games anymore. I think this is a start of things to come
71k Congratulations on your way too 100k and beyond 🎉🥳 Way to go guys🎉
I’ve done over 50 cruises and we are doing the Reflection for the first time next week so I am glad to see this review!
This is exciting news. We are doing an 8-night ABC in December on the Reflection. I love a traditional balcony.
If you like shrimp, Lucy’s in Aruba has the BEST shrimp we have ever had. They are within walking distance of the ship and right on the water.
I dont know what celebrity is doing but im here for it. Sailing the Reflection on 11/4 and im really looking forward to it😊😊.
We just sailed the Reflection as well! It was our first time on that ship and we were pleasantly surprised! One of our most memorable cruises! The entertainment was awesome as was the food and service!!
Thanks for sharing your similar experience!! 🤗
Luigi is fantastic and Celebrity’s definitely pushing to improve their older ships by sprucing up their entertainment by adding such a talent as this. He will draw guests of all ages.
Doing an 8 day on reflection aqua in December. Looking 👀 forward to it. Thanks for the update 👍
My wife and I were on Reflexion last Christmas and we loved it! We had a Sky Loft Suite and spent most of our time in Michael's Lounge...lol. Food was amazing and we can't wait to go back on Reflexion again. Love your channel. You guys are amazing!
Glad to hear they are updating shows. Currently on the Edge for 4 B2B. The music is newer I prefer 60s and 70s but I am 70. I do not like short cruises because I have to travel to get to any port Celebrity has.
Love that you took a cruise to get away from your work!
Awesome video thanks! 🤩 My husband and I have yet to try Celebrity but we are definitely keen to. Actually thinking of going on the one TH-camrs Ben and David will be on this summer in Australia (we are Aussies). 🐨
My friends and I got off the Beyond and the next day went on a four day cruise on the Reflection. We had a great time on the Reflection - loved Feel the Funk. The food and service were wonderful.
We loved Luigi the cruise director. Prior to the Edge class ships, the Reflection was always our favorite.
Great to hear Reflection is up to par! Booked on her and have sailed on her sisters, Equinox, Eclipse, and Silhouette.
We are booked on the Reflection for the ABCs early next year. We love this class of X’s ships and so I’m excited to hear about these upgrades!
We just sailed on a 12-night cruise on Celebrity Millennium around Japan. It too has been upgraded. It was awesome
My sister and I were on celebrity reflection back in May. Of course that was our first cruise on celebrity and we loved it.. especially when the captain of the ship did a whole show with his rock band. It was awesome! Glad to know they have made all these improvements! Will definitely sail with them again in the future!
We travelled on Solstice in March from Singapore to Sydney and were so upset with the way this beautiful ship had been downgraded in the opposite way from your description of what is going on with Reflection. The food was under the quality we’d had on this same ship just before Covid, as was the entertainment. The cruise director was also less than expected and made a remark, supposedly a joke, that he was having to do some entertaining as all the money was going to the new ships. I didn’t doubt it and we were so disappointed we decided not to cruise on solstice again until she’d been refurbished.
I have my fingers crossed that Celebrity are pulling up their socks with all the older ships, which we love, and not just on short trips in the Caribbean.
Thanks for the update.
Love your channel! So truthful!! We went on the Solstice, last year- what a run down ship- we were in Aqua and the cabin ceiling was falling down. The trim on the closet fell off and shower wasn’t water tight, water all over floor. Food and service was awful- especially in Blu- room service breakfast- cold coffee in styrofoam cups; they said they ran out of thermal pots. Entertainment- same sets and lame themes!! Totally awful!
Love Luigi- full of energy- he’s our favorite cruises director!
The Celebrity reflection is awesome I absolutely love that shit but I’ve been on her twice in January 20 23 and justice pass September had a wonderful time the food was fantastic!! love love love the martini bar
Glad to hear this news. We took the Eclipse last year and the food was below par, even in the specialty restaurants. Because of this, we are hesitant to take older ships.
I just went on the REFLECTION with a mentality to just accumulate points. But I was so impressed by how much I enjoyed that I'm going back on the REFLECTION in 2 weeks! I feel like this summer the REFLECTION was the real flagship of Celebrity!
We are booked on the Apex this year in December and the Xcel in December next year. Just disembarked from the Beyond in September. Good to know about the Reflection!
Hopefully this is a sign of the new trend 🎉🎉🎉
We were on Reflections in April. In Aqua. blu was amazing not one bad meal. Entertainment was great. Was one of our best cruises. And have done 47 cruises
Sailing on Reflection in 30days. Thank you for this. 😊
I think there is so much intense competition, Celebrity is being very smart to promote and maintain the short 3/4 night cruises.
Good for them and good for the future passengers.
We completely agree!
I'm going on her in January..so happy to hear this!
I love to hear that Celebrity is listening and implementing positive changes across their line! I am about to take my first-ever cruise in January on Equinox and I was not thrilled with the "show" offerings. My friend has convinced me to give it a try. Would LOVE to hear popular songs that make us want to dance and see some quality shows! Would also love some day-time activities besides hanging by the pool and instead of gambling (UGH!) I sure hope it happens!
I love the Celebrity brand. Just got off a back to back on the Beyond!
I was on the Reflection in June and have booked it in April 2025 for the Panama Canal cruise. I loved the Reflection!
Thats great to hear. I saw some really good rates on those shorter trip, so I was wondering how they measured up. Thanks for being the guinea pig guys! 😂
Such great news - sailing on Reflection and hope our experience is as positive!
Have a wonderful cruise!
Luigi is the best ! We were on the Beyond and Ascent maiden voyage w him and he pours his soul into his work. In fact we saw you two on the Ascent and in the Eden show when y’all participated. The reflection is a great short cruise and the investment they have made is a smart move.
Just off the edge to Alaska, really enjoyed the cruise. Great food in the MDR andLido
I have been on the Reflection 2x this year and about to go one more time in a few weeks. I agree the last sailing I was on, a 3 night weekend cruise to CoCoCa (and really the one 8 night shortly before that) I have been VERY impressed with the staff and the food. Had it been poor before, I cant say, but I can tell you we had such a good time on this last 3 night we booked again on the ship.
It makes send that Celebrity is "showcasing" their best offerings as these short cruises are intended to impress and grow the client base. As shareholders we like this! We're trying a side-by-side next spring from Ft Lauderdale with Ascent then Silhouette for a 4-nighter "booze cruise". We just hope there isn't too much "wear and tear" on Silhouette.
I’ll be on her in Dec heading to the abc islands. I hope it remains true all the items you mentioned… but it is a 7 day cruise. Great blog Jared !
Thanks Dana! We love the ABCs! Hope you have the same cast as they were awesome! 👏🏽
Considering how many people are loyal to Celebrity's Constellation aka Connie (as one example), this sounds like a good strategy. We tend to stay with one ship we like because it becomes familiar. We think Celebrity is doing the right thing renovating the older ships - that's a lot of money to thrown into the scrap yard.
Well this is good to know, since I am getting on this week.
Seems like just a few small changes like investing in just food and entertainment can make a huge difference. I hope they try this on some of their other older ships
Exciting news! We will be on the Reflection and then a BTB on the Ascent in December. Can’t wait!
Yay!! Enjoy! We love Ascent!!
We were on the Silhouette in July (12 night Scandinavian sailing) and had the same reaction as you. We were very impressed.
Thank you for your comments. We have been on the Reflection many times, including twice last year and this year on short and long nights. Food is always excellent everywhere!! What tops the Reflection now, is the addition of LUIGI as Cruise Director......Celebrity's Cruise Directors always have good cruise directors, but since we had the joy of meeting LUIGI on the Celebrity Ascent this year, we can say that he is truly the BEST OF THE BEST Cruise Directors in the entire fleet and also comparing with RC. He's like the "Everyready" battery bunny on steroids! Lol, Lol, Lol. Talk about someone who truly loves and enjoys his job! He puts his heart and soul into everything and you can see it. Thank you for honoring LUIGI. Dominicans really know how to entertain!! We can't wait to have the pleasure of seeing him again this coming month!
We just finished a back to back on the Summit. Food in main dining room was BRUTAL. With only 1 speciality restaurant we felt trapped. I will only sail Edge class ships.
Our last cruise was on the Reflection in 2023 it made us explore other cruiselines because of the MDR and lack of party atmosphere. Our previous cruises were on Celebrity. I am now try Royal for the first time. I loved Celebrity until the Reflection. It needed help.
We are going with our family on Celebrity Silhouette next June . Some of our family members haven’t cruised before. Hope the Silhouette has some of these improvements onboard. Would love our family members to love their experience on the Silhouette. Would have preferred an Edge class ship, but sailing out of Bayonne is more convenient for our family. My DH and I have sailed on 27 Celebrity cruises and on 6 other cruise lines. Celebrity Viking are our favorite.
We were recently on the Equinox for back to back cruises in the Mediterranean. We had this conversation about the shows being the same. We have been sailing in the Caribbean every September on the Equinox. We were disappointed again that the show was the same.
Just thrilled they are making investments with olderships and shorter Iteneraries in Premium market especially...So many ar a certain age and taking there folks at the top ages want these "smaller" ships...just thrilled. Thank you.
It will be interesting to see if the great new things on the Reflection will be pn the Silhouette when they switch them .
We were just on the Reflection and totally agree with what you are saying. Was disappointed to hear Silhouette is going to take over the 3/4 day sailings.
We are curious as well! If all goes well for feedback from Reflection, we could see Celebrity seeing the fruits of their labor and doing more on other ships. ☺️
Recruiting for a younger crowd who will become longer cruise folks as they go through the years.
Good news for thode of us who don't like big hugh ships. Bravo celebrity ❤
Great to hear. I sailed the Ascent in March and sailing the Beyond next weekend. I'm trying out the Silouette in Jan to have a real balcony (don't like the Edge veranda) and because it is the latest in the Soltice class to be fully renovated and I saw videos of cabins on the Reflection having torn curtains, worn carpeting and furniture. How was your cabin quality? I'm aware older ships do need updates but prefer ships that have been renovated if not new.
Our cabin was solid and pretty refreshed. That said, we are sure some cabins will receive more wear issues given the shorter itinerary now.
@@JJCruise thanks!
I wonder if this will still be the same on our 8 day cruise in January. I sure hope so, especially the food part.
We have an 11 day coming up on the reflection can’t wait.
We were just on the beyond, we were told that the reflection changes was a test ship for the changes you reviewed before possible rolling them out to the other ships in this class.
This is great to hear!
I have heard from some other influencers that Celebrity is really stepping up their game from food to shows.
I like Celebrity's older ships. I liked Equinox much better than the Edge
Equinox is our favorite older ship!
I did the reflection back in June. It was ok I’m glad they changed
Ditto!
I’ve sailed Refelction 3x since April. It’s leaving for longer cruises and Solstice is taking over.
Well thank you for sharing this video. I have sailed on Celebrity Reflection twice and that is one boring ship and the food was okay, nothing you should run to get. Like you, I didn't care for this ship at all but the itineraries were great and the price was just right. I couldn't understand why many of the content creators like Celebrity. I was thinking all of their class ships were like the Reflection. However, when you shared what you shared I truly understand they are not all alike. I am glad the Reflection up the ante. Maybe I might just give it another try.
Finally some good news from Celebrity. It's been a year of disappointment with price increases (especially in the Retreat), tips removed from Suites, and lackluster food.
One Celebrity ship that needs attention is the Solstice. I was on her in early August in Alaska. She has never had an overhaul and it shows. They replaced some of the soft goods such as carpets and curtains in 2023 but the ship needs some major investment. The refresh of soft goods means it make a good 1st impression but once you have been on her for a day you notice all the areas where the age is really showing. Seating that is worn through or where the cushions have broken down so they provide no padding, broken shades, cabin furniture that is broken or the finish has worn off with age, our cabin blackout curtains were full of holes allowing in light, etc. Outside of the specialty restaurants the food wasn't great. The ship was understaffed and there were bizarre decisions like not opening the sky observation lounge bar during the day even on sea days even though it was always full of people because it was where most of the daytime organized activities took place. On the 2nd night of the cruise at one of the bars I couldn't get a cold beer because the beers which had been loaded in Vancouver had just made it up to the bar after they had run out of everything. The singers and dancers were very talented but the production value of the shows was limited. The danger lines like Celebrity run when not investing in some of their ships is exactly what happened with me. That was my 1st Celebrity cruise and there likely won't be another anytime soon. At least if I'm choosing the line. Since August I have booked a 9 day cruise for December, a 14 day for next year and a 14 day for 2026. I didn't consider Celebrity for any of them.
Celebrity Reflection is the newest of the Solstice class ships - so currently only their 5th oldest ship. Celebrity needs to focus on ensuring the soft product is similar across the fleet even if the hard products (the ships) aren't. Buffet last year on Eclipse in Australia in the evening was poor (think Burgers and Hot dogs) with half the counters closed. Just got off the Apex, and the buffet was very busy every night with a fabulous selection - so good we ate there 7/13 nights
Great idea by Celebrity!
We sail mainly Celebrity and our only complaint is the shows dont change. Maybe they need more comedians on board to change things up
Doing celebrity reflection end of this month good luck to everybody affected by Milton. The ports are going to be a mess for a while
Summit was great last January. We’re taking Equinox this January. But we’ll be doing a Cunard Queen’s Grill transatlantic in a couple of weeks so it will be hard to compete with that. But last year our celebrity cruise was $$1500 total for two of us with gratuities, wifi, a drinks package and insurance. This year it’s $2700!!!! We did move from an inside cabin to ocean view, but that’s still a huge jump in price.
Are the lines promoting and building up the short/weekend cruises? Are these changes part of that strategy?
We were on Reflection 2 weeks ago and thought it was really good, we did the four night Key West/ Coco Cay itinerary. I still think the food is not quite up the standards of some of the newer ships, though the Lawn Club was great and nearly on par with Rooftop on Ascent. But I also felt like the service in the main dining room was subpar. Honestly, I think all of the MDR service levels aren't what they should be because of anytime dining, which makes no sense to me because they're just still trying to treat it like "main seating"/ "late seating" and you can't do that. But we've had Luigi our last three trips, three different ships, and he is great. I hadn't thought about them bringing him on as a way to up the quality of the trip, but it makes sense. Bring your top talent in to get people to stay longer.
You're crazy. Celebrity Reflection is a beautiful ship and very well maintained. I love the decor. The carpeting looked new. It's not that old either. It was the last of the Solstice class ships and came out in 2012. Also, it's not smaller than the Edge class by much. Go look at the number of passengers. Maybe you're thinking of the Millennium class? Since you're cruise specialists, why didn't you talk to Luigi? I think that Shine the Night is his invention. I was on the Ascent in January when Luigi was the CD. This one on the Reflection was even better. It was really fantastic. The MDR food was OK, but not as good as on the Ascent. My only criticism was that I didn't like the second production show at all. But I do agree that the Funk production show was wonderful.
Perhaps he wants to get free cruises from Celebrity.
Hey JJ guys - I LOVE how much I’ve learned about Celebrity from your channel ❤❤❤. We are traveling on Celebrity Eclipse’s final journey before refurbishment (March 22 - April 3 TA from FLL to Southampton). Our first Celebrity sailing, chosen for itinerary and price. PLEASE HELP! Why don’t they show any menus after day 8??? It’s a 12 day sailing and I’m worried it has something to do with planned refurb. NO MENUS on app for days 9 - 12 for MDR or Buffet. Kinda creeps us out. Can you explain this?
No worries! Most things in the app are placeholders, not final. Also note that we’ve done similar sailings in the past and the menus typically are repeated starting around that time but maybe with a chefs special for the evenings as well.
The app schedule will definitely change the week of and while onboard your sailing. ☺️
I think instead of pouring Billions into a new ship they are refurbishing and updating the older ones, the investment I believe would pay off more
I hope it is the start of something new!
We are sailing on Reflection in Jan from Fort Lauderdale to the ABC islands 8 days - any idea if these shows will be on that itinerary?